Daine and Numair go to the Ball
by mashka96
Summary: Daine and Numiar go to a ball.
1. Getting Ready

P.S Belongs to Tamora Pierce. Not Me

Daine was waiting for Alanna to come out of the dressing room. Alanna, Thayet, and she were all going to be fitted for dresses for the evening ball.

"Why am I even being fitted?! I'm not going!" grumbled Alanna. Everyone knew how much Alanna disliked going to balls, but she was the King's Champion, so she had to go. She came out wearing a satin purple evening dress that complimented her hair and eyes very nicely.

"Alanna, you may as well stop grumbling because everybody knows your going." Thayet reminded her. "The kings champion is required to go."

"It's not like I want to go! I'm being forced by your husband! If it was MY choice, I'd wear breeches. They are much more comfortable anyway." replied the angry Champion.

"OK! Who's next!" yelled Kuri. Thayet pushed Daine forward and told Kuri she needed to be fitted with a pale blue dress.

"The dress should match her eyes. It will definitely be blue!" Thayet exclaimed. Apparently, nobody shared her enthusiasm about the ball. Daine went into the dressing room holding a pale blue silk dress with bare shoulders. The gown fell to her feet, and the folds of the dress whispered lightly as they brushed against each other. The bodice was dark midnight blue, while the skirts were all pale sky blue.

"This is the ONLY dress I am wearing to the ball." Daine replied. Everybody was enchanted by the beauty of the gown. "Numair better like it or else!"

Day of the Ball

The ball was held for Numair, Daine, and everybody else who participated in the war. Daine and Numair were going to be announced to the crowd as the mage who killed Idar Hadensra, and the wildmage who killed Ozorne.

"You look beautiful, my sweet," said Numair when he first saw her in the gown. "I will be honored to be the host of this beautiful lady." He planted a soft kiss on her lips then lead her to the main entrance after King Jonathan announced them.

"The black-robed mage Numair Salmalin, who defeated Idar Hadensra, and Wildmage Veralidaine Sarrasri who battled and killed Ozorne," announced Jon. Daine and Numair walked in and bowed before taking their place at the table. Everybody saw the food that was piled high on the tables. There was so much food, barely any tablecloth could be seen. After everybody ate, the dancing started. Nobody asked Daine to the first dance, because they all knew it belonged to Numair.

"May I have this dance, my lady?" asked Numair.

"It would be my pleasure," replied Daine. The dance was fast paced, but Daine and Numair enjoyed every second of it.

"Isn't this wonderful, my sweet?" asked Numair, as he enveloped her lips in a loving kiss.

"It is great," replied Daine, as they continued dancing.


	2. After the Ball

Set after the ball.

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Daine and Numair were standing outside their door. Numair was fumbling in his pocket for the key, and complaining how itchy his black robe was.

"How did you lose the key," asked Daine. "You had it before we went outside after the ball."

"I seem to have a hole in my pocket, magelet." Replied Numair. "Don't worry, I'll make a new one later."

Black magic spilled out of his hands onto the lock, opening it. He opened the door, ushering Daine inside. They walked inside and Numair lit a fire, since both of them knew how much he hated the cold. They undressed and got into bed.

"Good night Magelet,"said Numair as they both fell asleep.

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The next day Daine was getting up really early for the rider barracks. She noticed Numair was already out of bed, and probably in the library. She sighed, not wanting to get up. After putting on her breeches, she started heading out to the rider barracks. She yelled out Onua's name, but only silence met her.

"Onua!"

"……."

"Onua!!"

"……"

Suddenly somebody ran up behind her and forced some kind of vile drink down her throat, then tied her arms and legs. She tried to morph into a bear, but it seemed like the copper fire inside her was held in a sort of cage, in which it couldn't get out.

"Who are you?! Let me go!" A hand clamped her mouth shut after she yelled out. Suddenly the man started screaming.

"That little bastard bit me! Will you stop fighting! We will not harm you if you cooperate with us!"

"Who are you?! What do you want with me?!" The response she got was being gagged and blindfolded then thrown onto a horse with a man behind her holding her. Daine felt the horse start galloping. The man behind her put something smelly in front of her nose, then she started seeing blackness seep into her mind….

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"Hey look, she's awake!" yelled the man who was on the horse with her. "What do we do with her now, Akem?"

"We make the king pay a big ransom for her. Then we will be rich!" exclaimed the second man, apparently known as Akem.

"How much do we ask for her?"

"1,000,000,000 gold nobles." Akem told him.

_Help!!_ Daine silently screamed in her head. She could already feel the potion wearing away, so she willed her power to make her into a bear.

"What the hell!" yelled both men, as a big black bear roared at them ferociously. Daine was now apparently a big huge black bear who was about as nice to them as they were to her. Suddenly, hundreds of animals started attacking. Daine could feel her power wearing away, so she changed one last time into a deer, and realized the dolts who tried to kidnap her were camping only a few miles from the castle in the woods. She silently thanked Mithros and cursed Akem and the other man, as she was running through the woods. The men were screaming as birds were flying into their hair, and apparently trying to cause as much bodily harm as possible for a small bird. It seemed that the men were surprised at how much it hurt when the birds bit them. She ran onto the castle grounds, and ran into her and Numair's room.

"Numair!!" she screamed as she changed back. "Where are you!"

"Daine?! Where were you? Everybody was looking for you!" he exclaimed.

"Where was Onua this morning? I called her and she didn't answer," she said.

"A little birdie told her that the king called her and all the riders immediately to his room."

"Numair, this is no time for jokes! Did you not even realize that I was gone?! You do realize this isn't funny! I almost got kidnapped!" She exclaimed as she started crying. Numair pulled her into a tight hug.

"There there, magelet, I was only joking. I'm very glad your back. We will tell everyone in the morning." He shushed her, rocking her back and forth.


	3. authors note

Authors note: OK. I don't really like my story, so im probably gonna delete it. I need at least 15 reviews to convince me otherwise, and plot ideas, since this one doesn't have a plot. Toodles!


	4. yet another authors note

Guess What? I'm starting the story again!! Give me about one more day and I'll have like 3 more chapters to post up!! YAY


	5. Meeting

In the Woods

Akem was picking bird feathers out of his hair for more than 4 hours. "How could you let her go?! For Mythros sake, it was a damn girl, barely 17! I will see you demoted to stable hand in our castle, Demano!" Demano was sitting in the corner of the shed they found 25 miles inland of the royal castle that King Jon lived in and was tending to the multiple bruises that he acquired from the supposedly harmless songbirds. The shed was broken down and rain was leaking through multiple cracks in the roof. There was a chair and a table sitting in the middle of the tiny room.

"It's not me fault. The bastard churned into a black bear. I'd like to see you control a bear!" Akem's face was turning a nice shade of purple. "You think King Maggur will be happy that we lost the only hostage that we meant to capture? She is the damn wildmage of the kingdom, and obviously a very powerful one! Did you see how she managed to get free from the potion? That was meant for at least twelve hours! I'm not the only one who will be demoted!" Demano went back to sulking in his damp corner. Akem got up and calmly went over to Demano. Without the other man realizing he grabbed his arm and twisted it back with a knife held dangerously close to his little finger.

"Since I am the leader of the mission," he hissed through his teeth, "I would only be demoted. You, on other hand, would be killed without a second thought. So keep your thoughts to yourself, if you value your life. We will try one more time. If you say another word, I will tell the King you purposely let her go. Do you understand?"

"I get it, I get it!" Demano's face was twisted in pain. "How will we get her?" Akem roughly dropped his arm. Demano hissed and started rubbing his arm while glaring murderously at Akem. Calmly, Akem walked to a chair, sat down and started cleaning under his nails with a knife. "I haven't thought about that yet. For now you will have to content yourself with the fact you will have a lot of work to do if you want to get back into my good graces."

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Daine, Numair, Alanna, Jon, and all the other members of the council were sitting at a table. "Daine," Jon said, "Describe to me the men you saw. Tell me the age and appearance." After Daine calmed down she was more composed. "There were two men; one's a mildly good-looking Scanran with his nose broken and multiple scars on his face. He was about 35 with short blonde hair and a clean shaven face, though not very tall, about 5'8. I heard the other man call him Akem. The other man was dark. He had very dark hair, almost black, and very large. He was about 6'3. Also about 35 or 36. I can't tell anything else since I didn't see them all that well."

Jon looked grim. "You said that they were Scanran?" Daine nodded her head. "I'm pretty sure only one of them was", she said.

"That might mean that Maggur is looking for war. He wouldn't kidnap the wildmage because he felt like it. We should be worried." Jon's eyes were the color of storm clouds instead of their clear blue shade. Alanna was looking thoughtful with her chin in her hand. "What did we do now, that he wants to go to war with us? Is it because we defeated Ozorne? That doesn't make any sense. Why would they?"

"That's what we're going to find out, Alanna." said Numair. "I'm thinking that it is because during the time that Daine demolished Ozorne's castle, she freed all those slaves. From what I learned, the person who sold and captured those slaves was King Maggur's grandson, Alturas. He is now completely broke. Since all those slaves were released, they are leading a revolt. King Maggot would never start a war over that. He needs us to start it. I'm pretty sure he's going to start the war anyway. He is really furious." Everybody was looking at Numair. Jon ran his hands through his hair and leaned back in his chair. Alanna's eyes blazed with fury. Her famous temper was breaking free of its constant rein. George put his hand on Alanna's arm and looked at her assuredly. Her eyes gave one last glare at everybody and then settled down.

"This is just excellent. We have a war on our hands just because the Maggot can't handle defeat. Tell me Numair, how did you know about this?" Jon was looking thoughtfully at Numair. Numair folded his arms and responded. "My brother used to work there. He passed me along all information he could gather. He left after he learned about the slaves. He was never loyal to the Maggot." Jon raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you hold your own spies?"

"I don't," Numair replied. "I didn't ask him to work there. After he started, I just asked him for information." Jon sighed. "I see. You there, page, take this message to the captain of the army. He is to gather men and train them to be soldiers. Drill all of them until they can fight with their eyes closed.

"Yes sire." The young page bowed and hurried along to bring the captain the message.

"George, I'm going to need you to make sure we know everything that happens in the kingdom. Do you have any spies that would work?" George grinned and replied. "From what I've heard, the queen needs a new head maid. She is also a very big gossip and entrusts everything to her maids. That is, if she trusts them. I can just send Ally there since she is back. She can have her trust in probably a week at the most."

"That would work very well, thank you George. This meeting is officially over." Jon stood up and 15 chairs scraped along the floor while everybody got up.


	6. Poison

Daine and Numair talk

Daine and Numair walked silently but furiously toward their room. They passed many people who avoided them. Everybody could see that the powerful mage and powerful wildmage were angry. Numair was giving off black light and the castle was filled with the voice of every single animal who could feel Daine's anger.

"Daine, settle down the animals. You're making everybody nervous." Numair was not in the best of moods, but Daine was not put down by his angry tone. "I'll settle them down when you stop glowing like a candle. You're all black." She retorted. Right after she said that, she tripped over a protruding tile on the castle floor.

"Magelet, I can never fight with you for long. It's too hard."

"Let's see you trip over that thing. You would've fallen harder then me anyway."

He smiled and the light died down. The animals also calmed down, little by little. "I'm going to teach you how to repel this kind of attack on your power. When we'll get into our room I'll show you." They walked slowly along the castle grounds, enjoying the sunset, but with worry on their minds.

They got into their rooms and Numair lighted all the candles. He shielded the room so nobody could hear what they were doing. "Start meditating magelet." He prepared a lime green drink and set it on the table. "This drink won't hurt you and it isn't unpleasant. I made it to work with after I taught you what to do. If you won't fight it off, it will wear off after 2 hours." He settled down at the foot of the bed and Daine sat right underneath him. She started meditating and Numair waited. When she was completely in full meditation mode, he started telling her what to do.

"Their objective is to put all your power in a cage. I've seen it being done. Now all you have to do is put all your power in one very tight little box. They expect for your power to be very huge, since you're powerful. If it's small, it'll slip through the cracks. Once it slips out, you will have to get all of your power out of the cage then crush it. Let's try it. For now I'll just probe your mind. Later, you'll drink the mixture." He prodded her mind gently and saw her gather all her tendrils of magic. The problem was that as soon as she grabbed one tendril, another escaped. She was sweating a great deal and her breathing was becoming labored.

"Magelet, try to pick an object, something small of yours, like your pearl, and imagine filling all your power in it. I'll help." Together they managed to get all her magic into one little ball.

"Now ill make a cage with my magic. It will be about as tight as the kidnappers' cage was." Daine nodded her sweaty head and Numair started. He made a cage and Daine's magic all went into it. There were gaps in the cage, but they were tiny. Daine took a hair thin strand of magic and forced it through the crack. As soon as that was done, the crack got larger. When all of her magic was through, she grasped the makeshift cage and crushed it under her power. She smiled triumphantly. "Very good magelet. Do you want to try the drink right now or later?"

"I think I'd rather do it now than face it later." She smiled. "Let's get it over with." She downed the liquid in one big gulp. Numair looked at her expectedly.

"I don't feel any different. Should I?" Daine was getting worried because nothing happened for 10 minutes. All of a sudden, she gasped and started sweating profusely again.

"Daine? Daine! Are you ok?" He ran up to her and put his hands on her arms and shook her. She tried to raise her hand and smile but instead she fell into a dead feint. Numair probed her mind and saw her life force winking out quickly. Picking her up rapidly with one arm, he ran out the door as swiftly as he could.

"Alanna! Come quick NOW!" Putting his hand to his throat, he radiated his voice across the whole palace. Running into the darkness, he met the Lioness and her husband halfway to his rooms. George was in breeches and no shirt and Alanna was wearing a shirt over a loin cloth and breast-band.

"What's wrong?! Why did you call me from my room?" Alanna noticed Daine lying limply in Numair's arms and paled visibly, her freckles standing out like brown dots on white paper.

"Mythros, what happened to her?" George was feeling her pulse with one hand. "Alanna! Let's get to their rooms! This is serious!" George looked around and noticed a page standing by the column at the entrance to the Imperial Zoo. "You there, come here!" He snapped his fingers and the page ran to him. "Get the king and tell him that Veralidaine is in trouble. Now! Hurry up!" Numair, Daine and Alanna were up ahead so George hurried after them.

"We were practicing repelling the potion that made her lose control over her power, and a made her a drink that would bind her power like theirs! That's all that happened! I think somebody poisoned the powder that I used!" All three of them plus Daine burst into the room and Alanna laid her across the bed and started looking at her heart.

"Oh its poison, alright!" Alanna said grimly. "I have never seen anything like this before in my life. It's practically sucking the life out of her. I don't even know what to do."

"Well do something!" Numair was pulling at his hair while pacing on the carpet and panicking.

Suddenly Alanna gasped and started frantically moving her hands against Daine's bare chest.

"What is it?! Is she alright?" George and Numair were worried out of their minds.

Alanna looked at them. "Her heart has stopped."


End file.
